


The Book

by SandyFeral



Category: LEGO Nexo Knights
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2021-02-26 18:41:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21613255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SandyFeral/pseuds/SandyFeral
Relationships: Jestro/Clay Moorington
Kudos: 26





	The Book

“Moving in still kind of feels like a big step up,” Jestro said, looking around Clay’s room. “But I gotta admit you do have a pretty nice room.”

“You’ll have it mostly to yourself,” Clay said. “I don’t really spend a lot of time in here because I’m too busy training.”

“You’re so organized!”

Jestro picked up a sword that had been hanging up on the wall next to a couple other weapons. Finding the sword to be too heavy, he nearly dropped it before Clay caught it. Jestro’s face flushed as Clay set the sword back on the wall.

“You sure you’re ok with me being here with all my junk?” Asked Jestro, eyeing the sword.

“It’s fine really. It doesn’t even look like you have that much to move in.”

Clay’s eyes fell on one of the items Jestro had brought in. It was a large book with a slightly charred cover.

“Hey Jestro, what’s this?” He asked.

As soon as Jestro saw what he was referring to his eyes widened. Quickly, Jestro moved between Clay and the book.

“Oh, that?” Jestro laughed nervously. “It’s just a journal. Nothing special really.”

Clay frowned. “It looks familiar. Can I see what’s inside?”

“Hey, come on Clay I gotta have some privacy left.” Jestro didn’t meet Clay’s eyes.

“Okay, okay,” Clay put his hand on Jestro’s shoulder, which caused him to flinch slightly. “You don’t have to be so defensive about it.”

Jestro seemed to visibly relax.

“Since you’re all moved in, wanna come with me to get a shake? I’m going to the Gym later so I was planning on getting a protein shake anyway,” Said Clay.

“Sure!” Jestro smiled, seemingly forgetting about the book.

Jestro grabbed Clay’s wrist, and as the two walked out, Clay shot one last suspicious glance at the book.

…

After a long day, Clay and Jestro returned to their now shared room. As they took off their clothes and got dressed for bed Clay caught Jestro staring at his body a couple times only to quickly look away.

Clay raised an eyebrow. “There’s nothing wrong with looking at me Jestro.”

“Oh.. yeah, I know that.”

Clearly, while Jestro seemed to enjoy sneaking glances as Clay, he was showing as little of his own as possible. When Clay did get a look at Jestro’s body he spotted several bruises and a couple scars, along with some odd marks of indeterminable origin.

After they were both ready for bed, Clay offered Jestro the whole bed, saying he would sleep on the floor.

“I probably won’t be sleeping that long anyway. I’m going to be up early to train,” explained Clay.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to bother you. I mean I’ve slept on worse, I could sleep on the floor.”

The two debated for a bit before deciding that they could share the bed. Although both of them were secretly a little embarrassed.

When the two lay down, they looked at each other for a moment. Jestro averted his eyes first.

“Goodnight Jestro.” Clay gave Jestro a quick kiss on the forehead.

“Y-Yeah you too,” Jestro stammered before turning his body away from Clay, his face red.

Jestro thought it would take him all night to get to sleep, but he actually fell asleep fairly quickly.

_“Psst, Jestro,” a familiar voice hissed in his ear. “Hey Joke boy, wake up!”_

_Jestro opened his eyes. The book he had brought with him was right in front of his face. But now it looked exactly like it had when he first found it. Yellow eyes glowed above a mouth filled with with pointed teeth and twisted into a wicked grin that made Jestro’s stomach twist itself into knots._

_“Oh no.” Jestro jumped out of bed, moving as far away from the book as possible.”Not you again!”_

_“C’mon Jestro,” Monstrux’s smiled broadened. “It’s time for you to join me again.”_

_“No!” Jestro shouted. “I won’t do it!”_

_Before the book could say anything else, Jestro ran to the door. Monstrux chuckled._

_“I didn’t say you had a choice.”_

_A moment before Jestro reached the door, a face appeared on it. The face of Monstrux laughed as Jestro let out a shriek of surprise._

_“You’re just making it harder on yourself,” said Monstrux._

_As he spoke a black liquid poured out of his mouth. The liquid oozed towards Jestro, reaching for his with slimy hands._

_“Please,” Jestro’s breath quickened. “No! NO!”_

_The liquid crawled up Jestro, smothering him. Now he was fully engulfed in it. He felt spikes growing down his back, his skin felt leathery, and heat spread through his entire body._

_“It’s good to be evil again!” Jestro cackled._

_Monsters gathered around his feet, he marched them out spreading panic throughout the kingdom. He picked up a staff, and slammed it on the ground, spreading cracks throughout the ground._

_“Jestro!”_

_Jestro turned to see Clay. Clay’s face was full of sorrow. Inside Jestro a voice was saying “I let him down. Clay I’m so sorry!” Outwardly however, Jestro only smiled. Clay approached._

_“Jestro, you don’t have to be evil! You’re better than this!” Clay’s eyes seemed to be pleading with him._

_“Oh Clay,” Jestro knocked him down, placing a foot on his chest and holding his staff above his head. “We both know that’s a lie.”_

_Jestro’s staff slammed down, piercing straight through Clay’s heart. Blood splattered everywhere, and Jestro could feel tears streaming down his face._

“Jestro!”

_“Goodbye Clay,” Jestro said, the metallic taste of blood filling his mouth._

“Jestro wake up!”

Jestro woke up with a jolt, drenched with sweat. For a moment he didn’t know where he was. A dark room with unfamiliar objects. But then Jestro spotted Clay’s face and he remembered. He was in Clay’s room. He was safe. He was… clinging to the book.

“You were crying in your sleep,” Clay said. “I’m guessing it was a nightmare?”

“Y-yeah.” Jestro took a deep breath. “A nightmare I’ve had before because-because-“

Realizing he had been stroking the book, Jestro let go of it.

“Because, that’s the book of monsters!” Jestro said.

Clay sighed. “That’s what I was afraid of. You really shouldn’t keep that around.”

“It’s not like I haven’t thought about getting rid of it,” Jestro said, voice shaking. “But every time I try I just can’t do it.”

“Then I’ll get rid of it.” Clay grabbed the book.

“NO!” Jestro snatched the book and clutched it to his chest.

Clay was startled by Jestro’s ferocity. After a moment Jestro calmed down.

“Sorry,” Jestro said. “I don’t know why but I can’t let it go. It’s like, when he zapped me, he woke up some part of me. And that part of me really misses being evil. But…”

Jestro choked. Tears filled his eyes.

“I can’t go back to being evil. Not again.”

“You won’t. You’re not a bad person Jestro, you chose to stop being evil, you don’t regret that choice do you?”

“Clay, this isn’t about making a choice! Monstrux didn’t give me a choice last time. If he comes back, and he will, I can-I can feel it, he’ll come to me and just zap me or whatever, and I’ll be evil again!” Jestro covered his face with his hands. “I hated it, not being in control, it feels awful and it never-“

“It never really fully goes away,” Clay finished. “Yeah, I know how that feels. But I wasn’t there last time. I promise, even if he does come back, I won’t let him control you.”

“But what if he does? What if I’m alone for just a minute and he finds me?”

“Then I’ll find you. I’ll bring you back, and if there’s the smallest part of the old you left, I won’t leave you alone until you’re back to normal.”

“Thanks Clay.”

Clay embraced Jestro. As the two hugged, Clay slipped the book out of Jestro’s arms, setting it down on the floor. Although Jestro returned to bed, Clay insisted he had already gotten enough sleep. He gave Jestro a kiss straight on the mouth, then sat down with the knight’s code to read while Jestro slept.

...

The whole next day Clay never let Jestro out of his sight. Though some of the other Knights thought it was odd for them to go everywhere together, Clay insisted it was necessary.

“Imagine how easy we’d make it for Monstrux to turn him evil if we just left him alone!” Clay explained.

“Yeah, but that still doesn’t mean it’s not weird to have him follow you around all day,” Macy said. “Why not just get a squire bot to look after him or something?”

“Because I don’t trust them to protect him.”

Despite Clay’s efforts to comfort him, Jestro was still a bit shaken by his nightmare. He hasn’t told Clay, but this had been the first time that Clay had been in the nightmare with him. And that frightened him even more.

Usually while Jestro watched Clay teach the knights in training he would cheer him on, or make comments on the performance of the trainees. But today he was almost silent. A thought that had never occurred to him before now gnawing at his insides.

Was he not the villain these trainees were being taught to fight against? What if he had to fight against them one day? Would they fight him without a second thought? Or worst of all, what if he beat them?

By the time Clay had finished Jestro had worked himself up thinking about it. He couldn’t keep all of his thoughts to himself. At the very least he had to ask one question.

“Clay, do you think I’m back to normal?”

“What do you mean?” Clay asked.

“Well, after you got turned evil didn’t you feel kind of… different? Don’t you still feel a little off?”

“Yes. Not that different but still different.”

“Well, what if I can’t really be normal again?” Jestro was starting to sound upset again. “I mean like they way I keep that book around even though I don’t really want to. And, you know how I hold onto your wrist instead of your hand? That’s because doing that makes me feel like I’m holding one of the staffs I got from Monstrux. What if after Monstrux controlled me I can never really be good again?”

“Jestro, you may be a little different, but that doesn’t mean you’re still evil. In fact, even Monstrux’s old monsters aren’t evil anymore.”

“Hey, you’re right!” Jestro perked up. “Those monsters dumped him easily! Maybe I should ask them how they got over him.”

“If it makes you feel better I’ll take you to them,” said Clay. “But I’m not exactly sure they’ll be happy to see you.”

So the two of them headed off to Burningham. When they reached the burning pillar of flames surrounding the town, Clay entered the town first to explain to the residents that Jestro had been reformed. Reluctantly, they allowed him into the town.

“I’ve just been having some trouble lately and I was wondering how all of you moved on from Monstrux so easily.” Jestro explained.

“Monstrux was gone,” said Lavaria. “It was easy to let him go. You were the one I actually missed.”

Whiparella gave Lavaria a strange look them shot a glare at Jestro that made him want to crawl under a rock.

“I-I appreciate that Lavaria,” Jestro stammered. “But I, uh-“

“I know.” Lavaria glanced at Clay. “So have I. The point is once we all found something else for us to do, something else to live for other than Monstrux’s bidding, it was easy to move on.”

“But I’ve been trying to find my place for years!” Said Jestro. “If I knew what to do with myself, I wouldn’t have let him control me in the first place. Being evil was the only thing I was good at.”

“It was hard for some of us to find our calling,” Whiparella said. “Being Monsters makes it… difficult for us to do certain things. But eventually we all found our specialty.”

“And now we only fight occasionally,” Lavaria added. “Mostly Tuesdays.”

“I just… I’m not sure I’ve found that thing yet.” Jestro sighed. “But thanks anyway.”

“Before you go…” Lavaria took out a small box. She placed it in Jestro’s hands.

“What’s this?”

“Trust me, you don’t wanna know. But I will tell you that it’ll burn any object real fast, and make quite a show too.”

“And why are you giving this to me?” Asked Jestro.

“Because, if you do move on I want you to use this to burn that book. It’ll make all of us feel a lot better.”

Jestro looked at the box for a moment.

“Maybe I will if that day ever comes.”

…

Jestro seemed to take Lavaria and Whiparell’s advice to heart. The next day, he offered to do a bunch of odd jobs around the castle. Unfortunately, he couldn’t seem to do them well. As usual there was always something getting in the way of his success.

Although Clay wanted to watch over Jestro, Macy had insisted that she could look after him.

“Since he’ll be in the castle all day I can easily keep an eye on him,” she told Clay. “Besides, you haven’t been acting like yourself lately. I think getting back to your regular training schedule will do you good.”

“Ok, but when I’m done, I’ll be back to check in on him,” Clay insisted.

So when Clay came back late in the day, he found Macy watching Jestro stumble through the task he was given.

“How’s it going,” Clay asked.

“Not good.” Macy sighed. “But he’s insistant on making himself useful in some way.”

Jestro approached the two of them, shoulders slumped.

“I don’t know if this is working out,” said Jestro.

“And I think I know the reason why,” Clay said.

“You do?” Jestro cocked his head. “What’s that?”

“No one’s helping you!”

“Don’t look at me,” Macy said. “He said he wanted to do it himself!”

“There’s a difference between letting him do it himself, and not helping him when he makes a mistake.” Clay looked Jestro in the eyes. “How about we do one more job, but this time I’ll help you.”

“Well, there is one more thing they told me I could do but…” Jestro bit his lip. “They told me I could do the entertainment for this event, but that would mean doing my old act and last time-“

“Last time you didn’t have me to help you.” Clay grabbed Jestro’s hand. “I’m not going to tell you that you have to do anything, but if you let me help you I believe you can do this.”

“If there’s anyone who can show you the value of training it’s Clay,” Macy said.

“Well, if you believe in me, I guess it’s worth a shot.” Jestro smiled.

“Good, then we got a lot of work to do.”

Since the event wasn’t until that night, the two of them had some time. Clay insisted that they start practice as soon as possible.

“Just try your act on your own,” Clay told Jestro.

Before Jestro had finished his act Clay stopped him.

“I just noticed your motions are a little off. Here, let me adjust that.”

This time, Clay guided Jestro’s arms through the motion. Then he demonstrated himself the proper form.

“I thought you were just good at knight stuff. I didn’t know you knew how to do all this.”

“Well,” Clay pulled off a flip effortlessly. “Being a knight doesn’t just mean being strong. Sometimes you have to be agile too. It’s good to know the in and outs of how to move your body, which is kind of what you need.”

So Clay and Jestro worked at the act piece by piece. Juggling, flipping, balancing acts, plate spinning. Even if Clay couldn’t do it himself, he’d still have notes on how Jestro could do it better. Soon enough Jestro had to take a break.

“Is this what the knights have to go through on a daily basis?” Jestro stretched his arms out.

“No, they wouldn’t be taking a break this soon.” Clay was doing more complex stretches, lifting his legs, bending down, and twisting side to side. “But you’re doing better Jestro! I can see your improvement.”

“I dunno.” Jestro sat down. “I mean it’s all fine and good to do well now, but it’s different doing it in front of all those people.”

“You’re not going to get anywhere if you keep telling yourself that.” Clay walked over to Jestro and cupped the jester’s face in his hands. “I can believe in you all I want but you have to believe in yourself.”

“Easier said than done…” Jestro sighed. “But I guess I can try.”

The two got back to practicing. By the time the event was only an hour away, Jestro had improved dramatically.

“It’s getting late. I’m going to be guarding there so I better get ready,” Clay said.

“I’ll see you later then.”

Clay took Jestro’s shoulders and brought him closer. Then he gently kissed his forehead.

“I know you’ll do great.”

…

Whispers and grumbles filled Jestro’s ears. _This is a bad idea._ He thought. _I’m not just a jester anymore. I almost destroyed the kingdom! Even if I do well they’re still going to hate me._

But then Jestro thought of Clay. Always supporting him, encouraging him, loving him. Of that book. Always calling him a simpleton, an airhead, an idiot. _Am I going to let that jerk get in my head. Am I going to prove him right?_ Then he thought of Lavaria. _I need to move on._

The beginning of the act started out shaky. Jestro stuttered, his hands shaking. But then he spotted Clay. It in fact looked like Clay didn’t know Jestro saw him. His face was the face of someone looking at something they loved.

From that moment, Jestro’s act improved. His anxiety, while not completely gone had lessened. He wasn’t perfect, but he was good. Finally when it ended, he bowed. For a moment the crowd was silent. Then there was clapping. It was from Clay. Several more people started clapping. Not everyone joined, but there were a few cheers and a general murmur of approval.

Though several people were still glaring, this was the least hostile reaction he had gotten from the kingdom since the cloud of Monstrux had appeared. Jestro smiled, happiness swelling inside him. He had done it.

As he moved towards Clay, he tried to stay composed. But as soon as he was face to face with him, an excited laugh escaped from him.

“I can’t believe I did that!” Jestro’s smile was so wide it looked like his face would split in two.

“You were amazing!” Clay face was full of pride.

“I finally did it! And they liked me!” Jestro hugged Clay, then kissed him straight on the mouth. “I couldn’t have done it without you!”

The two of them spent the rest of the night together. Although Clay tried to stay professional while on duty, Jestro and the other knights insisted he join in the festivities a bit.

By the end of the night Clay was carrying Jestro back to their room bridal-style, covered in smudges of Jestro’s lipstick.

“Honestly though Clay, it was all you, I couldn’t have done it without your help.”

“That’s nonsense, I may have helped you but you did it yourself. I told you all along you could do it.”

The two entered their room. Clay dropped Jestro on the bed causing him to squeak in surprise before laughing once more.

“I know. And it’s so nice to know I actually can do something right.” Jestro sighed “I just wish there was something I could do all on my own.”

“You make me the happiest knight in the kingdom,” Clay whispered.

Jestro blushed. “C’mon Clay.” A smile crept up his face.

“I’m so lucky to have you.” Clay hugged him.

“I’m lucky you even notice I exist,” Jestro said.

It took a while for them to stop their banter and actually get to bed. Even in bed, the two seemed so worked up that it took a few hours for them to fall asleep.

It was a while before Jestro woke up again. He sat up. The book of monsters lay on the floor. For a moment Jestro stared at it. Then he looked at Clay. He was asleep next to Jestro, his powerful muscles visible under his clothes as he moved.

Jestro got out of bed and picked up the book. Behind him he heard Clay stir.

“Jestro is something wrong? Was it another nightmare?” Clay asked.

“No, I’m fine I just need to do something.”

Without saying a word, Jestro took out the box Lavaria had given him. Placing the book on the ground, he opened the box. The moment the item inside touched the book, it lit up in colorful flames. Not only red and blue, but silver, gold, green, orange, purple, and yellow flames shot up.

Jestro’s eyes widened. The colorful flames reflected in his pupils. When he felt Clay’s arm around him, he leaned into the embrace. The two of them watching the flames without having to say a word. _I guess Lavaria was right,_ Jestro thought. _I just need to find something to live for._


End file.
